connecting

learning during read-alouds: critical thinking, new literacies

May 14, 2012

I read an extremely interesting article this week that has really left me thinking about how I read with my children. It left me thinking about my expectations for what we discuss and for what my children are capable of gaining from texts. It left me thinking about how deeply we delve into the books [...]

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quick trick: how to eliminate bickering

April 23, 2012

Do your kids bicker? About where they sit in the car. . . or who gets the last bowl of the ‘good’ cereal? About who gets the first shower, the comfy seat in the living room, or the chance to talk to Nanny & Pap first? About which show to watch, which person they get [...]

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disney fun fact lunchbox notes

April 19, 2012

We are big into lunchbox love notes around here, so why on earth would I have not thought earlier to make Disney Lunchbox Notes? Be still my heart. It’s the perfect combination: a captive audience, early readers, a topic that totally interests them–and a place I know they LOVE?  Add to the mix that they’ll [...]

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bullying: end it at home, school, everywhere

April 5, 2012

Thanks to The Bully Project for sponsoring my writing. Visit their website to join the movement and learn more.     Bullying is not okay. It’s not okay at home, at school, on the field–anywhere. And though a lot of families view ‘sibling issues’ as, ohhh, just a part of life–we do not. For us, [...]

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10 tips for read-aloud learning

March 6, 2012

Hip, hip HOORAY! This week has a little gem of a day hiding inside — World Read Aloud Day! March 7th is World Read Aloud Day, and I stand firmly behind the idea that every child, every person should be able to read.  And who wouldn’t, right? And I’m a huge fan of reading aloud–with [...]

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learning with pet poetry (& fun giveaway!)

February 9, 2012

We love our pooch, we really do. Sure, sometimes I say things to him that I wish I didn’t.   No, Maddy, I  promise we’ll never give Brady away, I promise. I’m just frustrated.  . . Owen, Sweetheart, we are not taking Brady back to Miss Marty’s farm and to his mom and dad. He will [...]

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best of teach mama countdown: #6 — learning with recyclables

January 7, 2012

One of these days I’m going to share where and how we store the recyclables that we manage to save from the big blue bin over here. But until then, I’ll share the #6 most popular teach mama post of all-time: how to use recyclables with kids–get fun, crafty, creative. I think people have responded [...]

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best of teach mama countdown: #9 — building words, names

January 4, 2012

This post, which rolls in at #9, continues to surprise me with the amount of hits it gets. Maybe it’s the title: word building, name building (and crossing the line). Maybe people find it unintentionally when they’re trying to figure out what to do when their kids ‘cross the line’–I’m not sure. I’m really not [...]

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family playing cards: take ‘em, make ‘em, then play!

December 28, 2011

A few years ago, I burned the midnight oil way too close to the finish line, in an attempt to create Family Playing Cards for Maddy, Owen, and Cora. And though I made the work harder than it needed to be, it was well worth it. The kids have used the cards steadily for the [...]

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magazines rock: creative, crafty, sneaky-learning fun

December 4, 2011

We are huge magazine fans over here. We love finding them in the mailbox, reading them, playing detective with them, crafting with them, and learning with them.  When they arrive in the day’s mail, it’s like a getting a little gift, just for you.  And when we sit down to read a magazine, it never [...]

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learning during read-alouds: making back-to-school connections

August 29, 2011

Today I sent the big O-man off to Kindergarten and Maddy off to second grade, and I absolutely cannot believe it. If I think about it too much, I seriously might burst into tears.  Weren’t they just in diapers? Crawling around on the floor?  Where’s the time going? Though Cora and I will soon adjust [...]

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